[left] Andros is the Bahamas’ biggest island. [right] Client Lynn Puhle relaxes as she gets a pedicure on location at a navy base.

She’s got an unusual commute — two hours by car then a 55-minute flight — but it’s worth it. The owner of Kai’s Kottage in Titusville, Fla., Kai Keach flies to Andros Island in the Bahamas once a month for a few days to deliver nail and skin care services on the navy base there. Since August 2009, Keach has been providing mani/pedis, gel nails, facials, and waxing services to contract employees and navy personnel who work on the base. For Keach, this is a homecoming of sorts. “I used to work for a contractor in the Bahamas back in the ’80s,” she explains. She left and had not talked to anyone from there for over 20 years when Facebook connected her with an old acquaintance who suggested she come work there. “It took close to a year before I was approved to come over as a vendor and work in the salon,” she says. “I love going back to Andros after being gone for 22 years and seeing people I used to know when I worked there. I am always very busy — not much time to enjoy the beach like I used to — but just being there is enjoyable. It’s very relaxing to see the ocean and palm trees.”

“Things on base are a bit outdated as far as furniture and the way the buildings look,” says Keach. “But I do my best to make it a relaxing experience.”